Just a Thought...

Just after graduating from college, I was lucky enough to spend a few months at a medical mission in Kenya.

There was nothing metropolitan about our setting. Complete with bathwater the consistency of mud and occasional swarms of flying ants, this was no Nairobi. An evening’s adventure usually involved hitting the walls of our home with a roongute, (a heavy stick made out of a large root), to scare the rats away. The only downside was that if they stopped rustling around in the walls, it meant they very well might show up in the toilet during a middle-of-the-night visit to the bathroom.

One particular afternoon, some of us decided to walk several miles to the top of a high hill to watch the sunset. As we reached our destination, we spent time laughing with beautiful Kenyan children, listening to distant drums, and beholding one of the prettiest sunsets I can remember.

As the last light of day disappeared, we began to head back. It was then that we realized that we hadn’t thought to bring our “torches”, or flashlights. Suddenly Africa’s handle, “The Dark Continent”, held a whole new meaning.

With no city lights, porch lights or headlights to mark our path, we stumbled our way downward. Thoughts of poisonous snakes and recollections of stories of late night thieves began to overtake us. After some time, we came to a fork in the path where our missionary guide couldn’t remember which direction led back to the mission station.

At that moment, seemingly out of nowhere, a man appeared. Attempting the limited tribal vocabulary she knew, our guide asked him for directions. He pointed, and not long after, we found ourselves safely home.

Even though I don’t often spend my days traipsing along dark, unknown African paths, I find myself often feeling unsure of the direction I am heading. Things look dark, safety feels uncertain. It is then that I am glad to remember that God really is everywhere.

“I am with you always,” Jesus promised. Matthew 28:20

A W Tozer describes the everywhere presence of God as follows…

God is here. Wherever we are, God is here. There is no place, there can be no place, where He is not. Ten million intelligences standing at as many points in space and separated by incomprehensible distances can each one say with equal truth, God is here. No point is nearer to God than any other point. It is exactly as near to God from any place as it is from any other place. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person is. The Pursuit of God

And more simply, Max Lucado says…

Mark it down.
You will never go where God is not.
You may be transferred, enlisted, commissioned, reassigned, or hospitalized – but brand this on your heart – you can never go where God is not. 30 Days of Thoughts, Day 7